Platform sole for shoes



Aug. 13 146. R. ALMY I PLATFORM'SOLE FOR SHOES Filed Jan. 11, 1945' FIG.2

INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 13, 1946 PLATFORM SOLE FOR snons Richard Almy, LancasterTownship, Lancaster. County, Pa., assignor to Armstrong Cork Company,Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 11,1945, Serial No. 572,265

This invention relates to shoes and, more particularly, is concernedwith a midsole or platform sole for a shoe structure. As used herein,the term midsole denotes sole generally placed between the insole andthe outsole of a shoe, or a sole used in a shoe structure in which atrue insole is omitted, such as the so-called California slip last type,in which a layer of fabric, for example, may be substituted for theinsole.

Resilient, flexible materials are particularly desirable for use asmidsoles in shoe structures.

2 Claims. (01. 36-25) However, in the manufacture of shoes, such as theplatform type or any shoe includin a midsole of a flexible, resilientmaterial, diflioulties are frequently encountered in the assemblingoperations. It has been found that a flexible, resilient material, whenused as a midsole, tends to round about its periphery, thus presentingan objcctionable appearance, for a gap exists between the upper and themidsole and, in many cases, between the outsole and the midsole. Inshoes of the platform type, for example, generally an ornamental binderof fabric, leather, or artificial leather is disposed about the edgeportion of the midsole in order to enhance the appearance of the shoe.In the assembling operations, frequently, the edge portion of themidsole is compressed, thus bulging outwardl the peripheral edge of themidsole and wrinkling the ornamental fabric. inherent in the manufactureof shoes including midsoles of resilient, flexible material.

The chief object of this invention is to provide a shoe structure inwhich the disadvantages discussed above are eliminated, An object of myinvention is to provide a shoe structure including a resilient, flexiblemidsole in which the edges of the upper, midsole, and outsol fit closelytogether; in which the midsole is not susceptible to objectionablerounding of the edge portion; and in which the fabric covering the edgeportion of the midsole is not susceptible to wrinkling during assemblingoperations. A further object is to provide a shoe structure including aresilient,

flexible midsole having a flexible, relatively incompressiblereinforcement member disposed about its periphery which serves tostrengthen and reinforce the same, thus preventing gaps between theelements of the finished shoe, objectionable rounding of the midsole,and wrinkling These disadvantages of construction are Thi inventionrelates to a shoe having an upper and an outsole, and including aresilient, flexible midsole, a flexible, relatively incompressiblereinforcement layer disposed along the peripheral portion of at leastthe iorepart of the midsole, and a layer of decorative material disposedabout the peripheral edge portion of said midsole, the rereinforce theperipheral portion of the midsole without detracting substantially fromthe resiliency and'fiexibility thereof whereb wrinkling of thedecorative material and objectionable rounding of the midsole forepartare obviated when the upper and outsole are assembled in the shoe.

This invention further relates to a resilient, flexible midsole having aflexible, relatively incompressible reinforcement layer disposed alongthe peripheral portion of at least the forepart thereof, saidreinforcement layer serving to strengthen the edge portion of themidsole Without detracting substantially from the resiliency andflexibility thereof whereb wrinkling of a binder and objectionablerounding of the midsole forepart are obviated when the midsole isassembled in a shoe.

The attached drawing illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention,in which Figure 1 is an isometric view of a so-called cemented or composhoe including the midsole of my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken through the forepart of a midsole ofmy invention;

Figure 3 is an exaggerated sectional view of the peripheral portion ofthe midsole serving to illustrate the reinforcement member;

Figure 4 is an exaggerated sectional view, similar to Figure 3, servingto illustrate a modification of my invention; and

Figure 5 is an isometric View of the midsole of my invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown in Fi ure 1 a shoe 2 of theso-called cemented or compo type. It will be appreciated, of course, myinvention may be used in connection with the manufacture of any shoewhich includes a resilient compressible midsole or platform sole and isnot limited to the various types of shoes illustrated herein. Shoe 2, asshown in Figure 1, comprises an upper 3, an outsole 4, an insole 5, anda midsole 5 disposed between the insole 5 andthe outsole 6. It iscustomary practice to cover the peripheral edge of the midsole 6 by alayer of decorative material 1 generall of contrasting color to theremaining portions of the shoe; such decorative material may be composedof fabric,

of the midsole in use.

leather, or artificial leather. In constructing shoes of this generaltype, the upper is secured to the last, the insole and midsole placed inposition thereon and secured to the upper, and the outsole cemented oradhesively secured thereto' This type of construction is well known inthe art and does not require lengthy description;

The forces necessary to adhere the outsole to the remaining elements ofthe shoe structure are so great in this type of construction that theperipheral portion of the midsole is compressed, causing objectionablerounding of the midsole at its peripheral edge, permitting gaps toappear between the elements of the shoe, and also permitting the fabricstretched over the edge of the midsole to wrinkle, detracting from theappearance of the finished structure. I have found that the midsole 6may be reinforced about its peripheral edge portion, thus obviating theobjectionable rounding and wrinkling of the fabric and eliminating gapsbetween the elements of the shoe, created when the various elements ofthe shoe structure are assembled as a unit.

To eliminate these disadvantages, I provide a midsole having a flexible,relatively incompressible reinforcement member 8 disposed about theperipheral portion of at least th forepart of the midsole and adhesivelysecured in place on the midsole. The member 8 extends inwardly only ashort distance from the peripheral edge of the midsole in orderto'avoid'loss of resiliency and flexibility of the midsole. Thereinforcement member 8 may be skived to a feather edge as shown at 9 inFigure 5 when member 8 is disposed about the forepart of the midsole. Inaddition, the reinforcement member 8 may be skived from its outer edgeas shown at i ii in Figures 3 and 4 so as to incline inwardly anddownwardly to meet the surface of the midsole, thus forming a featheredge at the point where the inner edge of the reinforcement'rnember 8meets the surface of the midsole 6. For most satisfactory results,similar reinforcement members 8 should be disposed alon the upp r andlower peripheral surfaces of at least the forepart of midsole 6. Ifdesired, member 8 may extend about the entire peripheral surface of themidsole. The reinforcement member 8 may be composed of any suitablematerial which is flexible and relatively incompressible in order thatit will reinforce the peripheral portion of the midsole in asatisfactory manner without detracting substantially from the resiliencyand flexibility Reinforcement member 8 preferably is formed of arelatively incompressible flexible material, such as leather, artificialleather, saturated paper, or saturated fabric. Such member may beslashed in any desired manner to promote its flexibility. If desired, acoating of any suitable material may be used for this purpose, forexample, semi-hard rubber, cellulose esters and ethers, or rubberurea-aldehyde resin mixtures containing a major portion of rubber.

The body of the midsole 6 may be formed of any suitable flexible andresilient material; for example, it may be formed of cork and spongerubber as disclosed in Forbes Patent No. 1,990.937, granted February 12,1935, orit may be formed of a cured and vulcanized siccative oil-resingel having incorported therein a reinforcing pigment to toughen andstrengthen the same, as disclosed in Elkins and Stouifer Patent No.2,352,148, granted June 20, 1944.

Any suitable decorative material, such as fab- 4 ric, leather, orartificial leather, may be disposed about the peripheral edge of themidsole as a binder as is customary in the manufacture of shoes of thetype described above. The binder preferably conceals the reinforcementmember and may be adhesively secured to the midsole. Preferably, suchbinder possesses a contrasting color to the remainder of the shoe inorder to enhance the appearance of the shoe.

In preparing the hoe structure incorporating the platform sole of myinvention, a platform or midsole member 6 of suitable contour isstrengthened by means of reinforcement members 3 disposed along theperiphery of at least the forepart thereof. A binder I of decorativematerial, such as fabric, leather, or artificial leather, is thenwrapped about the peripheral portion of midsole 6 concealing members 8and is adhesively secured in place. An insole 5 is positioned on thelast and is secured temporarily thereto by tacks. The upper 3 isdisposed over the insole, the edge portions of the upper being drawnabout the insole 5, and the midsole 6 of my invention is disposed overthe insole 5; these elements are then secured together by stapling orcementing. A layer of adhesive is then spread over the exterior surfaceof the midsole 6 and the outsole 4 adhesively secured thereto. Thestructure so formed is then ready for further assembling operations.

My invention obviates wrinkling of the ornamental fabric andobjectionable rounding of the midsole resulting from the assemblingoperations, By means of my invention, the attractive appearance of thefinished shoe structure is enhanced since the fabric binder is notwrinkled and the flexible and resilient midsole is not rounded at itsedges but presents substantially angular contours. The reinforcingmember stiifens the edge of the midsole without detracting substantiallfrom its resiliency and flexibility. The provision of the midsole of myinvention does not increase to any material extent the cost ofmanufacture of the shoe since additional operations are not required toassemble the midsole with the remaining shoe elements. The reinforcementmembers may be disposed on the midsoles, if desired, at the place ofmanufacture of the midsole material. The shoe structure of my inventionis economical, presents a better appearance, and may be manufactured atsubstantially the same cost as shoe structures heretofore known which arobjectionable in appearance.

While I have described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood my invention is not limited theretosince it may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the scope of thefollowing claims:

Iclaim:

l. A platform sole for shoes comprising a readily compressible,resilient and flexible cushioning layer adapted to be disposed betweenthe inner portion of the shoe and an outsole, a narrow substantiallyincompressible, flexibl strengthening reinforcement disposed upon saidlayer along the peripheral portion of the forepart of the sole and lyingsubstantially entirely above the plane of the upper surface thereof,said reinforcement rigidifying the periphery only of said layer torender such edge portion substantially incompressible in a directionalong the plane of the upper surface of said layer without detractingsubstantially from its flexibility as a whole, and a binding ofdecorative sheet material disposed over substantially entirely below theplane of the lower surface thereof, said reinforcements rigidifying theperiphery only of said layer to render such edge portion substantiallyincompressible in directions along the planes of the upper and lowersurfaces of said layer without detracting substantially from itsflexibility as a whole, and a binding of decorative sheet materialdisposed over the peripheral edge portion of said layer and over 10 saidreinforcements.

RICHARD ALMY.

